iPhone 1.0. I was notoriously good at getting lost cause I’m not great with directions. A couple days after I got it, I was going somewhere in a city that isn’t my own. I stepped off the train and pulled up the map app, looked at a couple of street signs, and said, “I’m going that way.”
I thought to myself, this changes everything. Younger people who never had to rely on paper maps will never understand how profound that moment was.
Going from a Candybar phone to an iPhone.
Wireless ear buds.
I was pretty adamant that I was absolutely never going to get any, preferring wired and really looking for a phone that still had the jack. Then when new phone time came, I ended up having to choose between a micro sd card slot and the headphone jack. I tried for a bit with a USB-C to headphone adapter but ended up seeing some ear buds on sale and giving them a shot.
They last way longer than I expected, and the carrying case as the charger means I hardly need to worry about keeping another device charged. The freedom of not having the cord is really nice, especially when going for a bike ride or jog. I upgraded to a pair with a little over-the-ear hook and use them probably 10hrs a day every day they are great
Bone conduction headphones for biking. Being able to listen to my tunes while I’m riding around is amazing.
Recently, my car. I was driving around a 2006 and recently got a 2024. A backup camera is amazing. The collision detection, touch display, and Bluetooth are a nice bonus also.
A raspberry pi.
Installed Pihole on it and now get almost no ads on all devices at home.
Smart oven + meal plan: My spouse bought me one for my birthday (a Tovala) and I have to admit I was skeptical at first but hot diggity damn does it make fresh cooked meals easy. We very rarely order out now and the meals are usually very good (stay away from the burgers though, their bread usually sucks).
Motion sensor and smart light switch. There are two rooms in my house with multiple entryways and awful light switch options, so without these I’d just stumble in the dark.
We also have it for our carport and it’s so pleasant for the light to automagically happen and then go off without needing to remember to change anything.
(And all of this done through local mesh and Apple HomeKit. We do not use proprietary services that can be shut down on us.)
Constant Glucose Monitors compared to the archaic finger stick monitors was like getting a blow job after spending a lifetime hacking it with sandpaper.
Bidet. Not even the fancy ones. Like the cheap ones that are no more than $20-30. Every poop, I’ve got a squeaky clean butthole.
Almost never having to cram paper in between my buttcheeks is fucking heaven. No more shit smears!
Microwave, I never had one, because, I never wanted to eat ultra-processed microwaved food.
But now , I use it all the time:
- to reheat my tea
- cook my vegetable (since I learn they retain more element being microwaved than cook)
- I can stock on pure frozen product, tuna , salmon, raspberry… and eat them when I want without being afraid of spoilage.
So now all my meal are more healthy just because of microwave, which seems counterintuitive, but is true.
I never understood the thought process that led to microwave cooking being unhealthy. Vibrating the water molecules to steam cook isn’t bad.
Maybe it’s the types of instant foods that are available? Those also exist for ovens though and don’t seem to carry the same stigma.
Bought a dishwasher.
Life changing improvement. Don’t be afraid to use the pots and pans setting for everything.
You don’t need fancy soap and remember to top up the rinse aid.
(Also every 6 months run a special cleaner through it)
Probably should run the clean cycle monthly.
And remember it has a filter you need to clean once in a while
Not all models have a filter to clean. But those that do… definitely remember to clean it. They can get nasty if you don’t.
iPhone 3G. I’ll never forget the day I put the internet in my pocket
I bought one but didn’t have a data plan. Jumping from WiFi to WiFi still felt like magic. It was a laptop that fit in my pants.
Not very high tech, but I love it: a projector clock (an alarm clock that can project the time on a ceiling or wall).
Not having to turn over to see the time is extremely nice when I’m cozy in bed. I didn’t even ask for it - it was given to me as a gift. If you get one, be sure that the angle and order are highly adjustable.
Bidet attachment for a toilet. Absolute life changer.
It’s sad how there are people out there who look down on the bidet. It really is a game changer. I still use toilet paper, but the process is so much cleaner and easier.
When putting it in, an older family friend (male) asked me, “oh you got that for your lady friend?” No…I want to save money and have a cleaner experience as a male.
Wait you have to put it in?
I have the “portable” kind where you can just put it under the toilet seat you have and it connects to your toilet’s water system that brings in water. It was about $30 off Amazon.
It is really straightforward, but my issue was that after I installed it, I had unknowingly unscrewed one of the components in the toilet and it was leaking and I needed some help to figure that out and get it fixed correctly. It was when I was screwing in the new T shaped pipe that it was unscrewing something in the toilet.
There are also the kind that can come built in a toilet, usually on the higher end toilets, or you can get one of the dedicated bowls that is like a secondary toilet seated next to your toilet too.
A wrench and a screwdriver. That’s all you need
Hell yeah bidet.
Ah, a person of culture. A most pristine brown eye.
